A Painting's Worth A Thousand Words
by Phantom Shyraz
Summary: Painting can be a form of escape as a painting can reveal a person's mind. (Pairing if you squint) -ONE SHOT-


**-A Painting's Worth A Thousand Words-**

Prompt: Hakuba Saguru makes a painting.

Disclaimer: The works of Magic Kaito belongs to Gosho Aoyama-sensei.

A/N: This was written as part of a Prompt exchange from Poirot Cafe. I'm no psychologist, I've never studied Arts (except for the brief period in the beginning of secondary school waaaaay way back). Thank goodness for the Internet and good ol' Wiki. Be gentle when pointing out plot holes and reviews please?

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"Alright class." The young Arts teacher shouted to gather the attention of her students. She was not sure whether to start praying or crying for she was the unlucky one assigned to this particular group, the dreaded class 2-B. She had often wondered what motivated her to become a teacher at Ekoda High, especially having heard of the horror stories from the online teaching forums. She looked across the front lawn where the students had gathered into small groups, one student in particular managed to catch her eye for the spot of normally blond hair was now in a bright orange. Shaking her head, she decided to ignore the signs of pranking and focus on the purpose of their current presence outside the art gallery. "Today, you'll be spending the afternoon in the gallery. The purpose is to expose you to different styles of art. As homework, you are to pick an artist exhibited in this gallery, learn about their style, and try to mimic it in a piece of artwork. The subject of the artwork is up to you."

The students' excited conversation were loud enough for the teacher to once again call them back to attention.

"You have the rest of the afternoon, the bus will leave at 3 from the entrance. Do not be late." She quickly dismissed the students as she headed towards the small cafe she spied on the other side of the road. Maybe the cafe has something stronger than the regular coffee, she would need it to corral the students at the end of the trip.

"Well?" Aoko spoke up the minute their teacher left. "Should we stay in a group?" She suggested helpfully, glancing about. Kaito on her left looked to be slightly bored but it was nothing too disastrous yet. Akako was thankfully not followed by a stream of boys ready to lay their lives for her (Aoko often wondered how Akako could reign in the hormonal boys, if Aoko could learn of her secrets, perhaps it would help her to reign in her childhood friend), though by the looks from the surrounding classmates, it would not be long before the beautiful girl would have her very own private tour of the gallery offered to her by her fans. Hakuba, on the other hand, looked quite speculative at the guidebook they had been given on the bus.

Not hearing any suggestion from her friends, Aoko made the final decision for them and announced they would walk about the gallery as a group. She turned her attention to Hakuba, who had a head of blond hair when he entered the bus, fluorescent orange when he left the bus, and now in a rather strange shade of lime green. "Hakuba-kun? Do you have any suggestions where we should go?"

"I would say we could walk around a bit." He looked up from the guidebook, brushing away the green fringe. It was a normal occurrence by now that he would not bat an eye to the strange hair colour change. "There is an area of special exhibit that we might want to check out first though. Otherwise, I think Kuroba-kun would be more familiar with the layout of this gallery."

"What? Why would I be familiar? I might have lived here since I was young but what gave you that idea?" Indigo eyes narrowed and zoomed in onto burnt umber.

"You seem the type to like all forms of artwork, particularly anything famous and perhaps the tiny bit shiny on the side."

"You-!" The magician to a step forward, possibly with the intention of grabbing Saguru by the collar but he deftly took a step back to avoid the hand.

"Stop it Kaito!" In the nick of time, Aoko thwapped her childhood friend on the back of his head. "Hakuba-kun was just making an observation. Beside, Kaito has spent quite a lot of your childhood time in here. Aoko remembered having been dragged along for several weekends just because Kaito found this rather nice landscape…"

"Oi, stop giving me away like that." The magician danced ahead just to avoid further swipes at his head. "Fine. I'll show the way. But don't expect running commentary!"

"As entertaining this all is." Akako finally spoke up from the back of the group. It seemed Aoko's predictions were true for a rather small group of male had formed behind Akako, all intent on escorting her for the afternoon. But Akako was not paying them any thought. "We should probably head inside first." She gestured to the now rather empty lawn, save for the group of friends and the small following of male.

"Then the special exhibit first." Aoko announced once more, grabbing onto her childhood friend in a rather painful grip to avoid letting him run about the quiet halls and cause havoc.

"Ease up on the grip." He complained but Aoko would not be complying.

Saguru stopped at a rather captivating piece of landscape art. It depicted a single male standing atop of a cliff, staring at the clouds in wonder. The back of the man looked fearless even as the clouds have obscured a majority of the view.

"This is what caught your attention?" A rather annoyingly familiar voice, just loud enough within the quite walls, questioned. "I wouldn't have taken you for the type to like Romanticism."

Saguru remained silent, hoping for an elaboration. He was not an avid student of the arts and hopefully, his current companion would shed some light.

"Caspar David Friedrich is famous for his landscape works, depicting an anonymous figure against a landscape. He never drew people's face, only their backs. As though asking for the audience to contemplate with the subject of the painting about the landscape, as though we the audience were standing there, overlooking the same view."

"You're quite knowledgeable." His own eyes never left the picture in fear of breaking this comfortable companionship.

"Like Aoko said, I come here often. Paintings, artworks, they're all meant to admired." There was a sense of reverent in his voice.

"Hm…" Saguru chanced a glance at the corner of his vision, he was greeted with a rather subdued version of the magician.

"It's a good piece though, this one. I think it's a loaned piece from overseas. The strokes are whimsical, yet intentional. Mild colours contrasted with the dark silhouette. It's a rather emotive piece."

Saguru finally turned to face the magician, only to find that he had left for examination of another piece. Looking back at the frame the final time, Saguru could not help but noticed it stirred something nostalgic in his heart.

However, the day when Saguru sat inside the study, ready to start on the homework, he found himself doing strong bold strokes that mimic a modernist's painting rather than the soft but energetic strokes as exemplified in the landscape that caught his attention. He remembered browsing through a wing of the gallery filled with modern abstract art and this would fit the bill of one of the artists with the selection of palette he used. As strong strokes coloured the canvas, his mind drifted to that singular painting once more. Sagure felt a sense of familiarity when looking at the picture.

"Bocchama?" His Baaya called with a knock on the door. It snapped Saguru out from his trance-like state. He looked back at the canvas where bright colours were periodically clouded by greys and blacks. Shaking his head, he knew his wandering mind would cause a shift in the previously bright picture and taint it with something darker.

"What is it Baaya?" He called back, signalling for the elder lady to move into the room. She pushed a small cart filled with pastries and cookies alongside a pot of tea. Slowly, she set up the service beside Saguru.

"You've missed luncheon." She poured from the decorated pot into rich polished china. "Also, your mother called asking when you would be returning to England."

"Not any time soon I'm afraid. There are still some loose ends here in Japan that I want to clean up."

"The case of the Phantom Thief?" His Baaya had been quite curious about his obsession with the thief. "The last time you were this focused, well actually you are still focused on that particular criminal seeing as he has yet to be caught."

Saguru stirred in the milk to his tea, savouring the tasted as he hummed in response.

"Yes, a Spider is rather hard to kill is it not? A poisonous one is always tricky and escapes before bloodhounds catch the scent."

"Well, don't let me disturb you on your work then. It looks like you could use this time to relax. Perhaps you should take it up as a hobby." She bowed before Saguru could react. "Oh, do not forget you have an appointment tomorrow after school, your father insisted."

"How can I not remember when you took the pains to remind me daily." Saguru spoke with fondness, despite hating the appointment. It had be a mandatory psychological appointment set up by his father. It was part of their agreement, for Saguru to continue to pursue his career in police work, he needed to keep his mental health in check. His father's belief was that being young and constantly exposed to the worst of human life could be detrimental for his mental development, hence after any gruesome criminal case (such as a murder), Saguru would be obligated to attend a session with a trusted doctor.

Turning back to the canvas, Saguru turned a critical eye to the use of colours.

"I could do with a spot of blue here and there." He mused out loud. As much as the colours are mismatched, it somehow reminded him of his school life in general. "It probably is because of Kuroba-kun and his propensity for pranks. Or perhaps I should amend to his fixation on my hair."

Perhaps it was the green, or pink, or even the bright yellow dotted here and there, but Saguru could not help but pull a small smile at how they reminded him of the different antics and pranks the magician-prankster-possible-thief pulled on a daily basis.

When it came to the day of submission, the prankster-magician distracted Saguru with a puff of smoke before stealing the canvas from his arms.

"Let's see what you have there Hakuba. Bet it's a dull piece." He managed to dance in the nick of time as an energetic girl started waving a mop in their direction. No matter how many times he sees the same dance between the pair of childhood friends, Saguru was impressed by the amount of control the girl has over the strange weapon.

"KAITO! Give that back to Hakuba-kun!" She shouted, chasing the prankster throughout the room, each time barely missing the mop of brown.

"Nah-uh. Not until I take a peek at it." The magician did a perfect backflip from atop of the desk, settling at the rear of the classroom on top of the small set of shelves. He removed the wrapping with flourish, eyes critically examining the canvas and taking note of the changes of colour. "Hm…"

Saguru held his breath. It was unnerving to be on the receiving end of a critic. He had always been the one to criticise works, and more often than not revealing in the artist's flaws. Yet right now, Saguru felt like a bug under the microscope. The magician's eyes roamed the space on the canvas before glancing up at Saguru. A quirk on the eyebrow made Saguru tense in nervousness. It was by some miracle, brought on by the mop-wielding girl, that broke the tension. The mop connected firmly onto a mop of brown.

"KAITO!"

"OUCH! Aoko! No need to be so violent!" He called out, rubbing on the sore spot. With the canvas temporarily forgotten, Saguru approached the pair and took possession of his canvas once more.

"Kaito deserves all the pain Aoko inflicts." She added an extra thump for good measure. "Kaito was being a nuisance."

"When is Kuroba-kun not a nuisance?" Saguru picked up the covering from the ground, quickly wrapping up the small canvas to block nosy classmates. Unfortunately, the girl had already caught eye on the painting.

"Wow Hakuba-kun, that's really nice." Her voice was genuinely impressed. "Aoko had struggled with her's the last few days."

"Your's looked like a drawing by a primary school student." The prankster was already moving away as he jibed. "Though it would look good posted on the fridge." The grin was more appreciative than mocking, no doubt the girl had noticed it for she paused mid-strike for a split second.

"KAITO!" The chase began once more and the classroom felt as though it returned to normal. Though Saguru still felt a niggling at the back of his head, as well as certain degree of anxiousness. Saguru had been waiting for scathing remarks from the magician yet none came.

Lunch was a time Saguru liked to spend inside a library, only that afternoon was spent on the rooftop of their school. He had been trying to, and had successfully, avoid a certain magician for his morning breaks. Resting his back against the meshed fence, Saguru savoured the lunch box provided by his Baaya. It was an extremely healthy lunch box to the point that Saguru felt the need to splurge on a burger after school.

"So, why abstract modern art instead of romanticism?" The voice had startled Saguru to the point he felt his heart nearly popped out of his chest.

"Kuroba-kun, must you be so silent?" Gripping the front of his shirt, Saguru tries to calm himself down.

"I thought I made enough noise, what with all the banging and explosion and puffs of smoke. You're just distracted."

"And with good reason as well." He muttered, turning back to his lunch.

"Ah, a loving lunch. No wonder." The magician invited himself and plopped down beside Saguru as though they were close friends. To some extent, they might as well be, if only Saguru could rid himself of his continual suspicion and need to expose a criminal. Then maybe he could call the magician a friend. For now, though, the magician is merely a classmate.

"And? To what do I owe the pleasure?" Unable to contain his curiosity, Hakuba asked with raised brows. It was out of character for the magician to intentionally seek out his company.

"Nothing, just wanted to know why the change. You were quite enthralled in the gallery by the piece of landscape and yet, you produced that." Elegant hands waved in the air. "I hadn't thought you were interested in modern art. Or art in general actually."

"Are you insinuating I am uncultured?" A barbless banter, but a rather enjoyable one.

"As much as you insinuate of me being KID." With a sleight of hand, the magician produced his own packed lunch. The pair enjoyed the sunny afternoon without further words until their food had been finished, to which the magician then produced two cans of drinks. Saguru stared at the brown can wearily.

"Why are you being nice all of a sudden." he could not help but question.

"What? Can't I at least try to be a friend or something?" Lifting the can of drink to his mouth, the magician took a long drink. "I thought you might appreciate some good company, guess I was wrong."

Saguru remained silent, staring at the metallic can, before finally pulling on the tab and taking a sip. It was regular coffee, no strange taste or smell. Just as a precaution, Saguru only took a small sip before setting it down on the concrete roof.

"No trust whatsoever…" The magician muttered when he saw the action.

"You have never actually been nice to me. Mostly resorting to pranking, hair colour changing, and on a good day merely putting me to forced sleep." Saguru pointed out.

"Well, you make a good target. I had to keep my skills perfected you know. Never know when it might come in handy."

"Again, I must reiterate, you have never been kind to me."

"Just shows you how much I care about you then, to use you as a target. Have you seen me targeting others in our class? Only you and Aoko get the special treatment."

Now that it was brought up, Saguru tries to find instances when the magician paid extra attention to a particular individual in their class. He was unable to come up with times that someone else had receive the same amount of attention.

"See? You're special!" He announced as though reading Saguru's mind. "So me being nice like this isn't actually out of character."

Saguru had the mind to keep silent, allowing the magician to give his monologue in the most dramatic manner.

"Anyways, what's been on your mind?" The magician asked after what seemed like way too much time had passed. Saguru felt the bell should ring at any moment and such a heavy conversation should not be brought up with so little time for discussion. Yet, the indigo eyes were expecting a lengthy answer from Saguru.

"Why do you think I have something on my mind?" Instead of actually answering, Saguru wanted to avoid. He already has to talk about it this afternoon hence he did not wish to share it with the magician.

"Your painting." The magician folded his hands behind his head as he tilted upwards to look at the blue skies. Saguru glanced upwards to see what was so special and captivating about the sky but did not find an answer. "Art reveals a person's soul, and yours is not only complicated but…" It was rare to see the magician lost for words and Saguru felt proud to be the one managing the feat.

"So you found something in my arts homework. Maybe I was just trying to imitate the artist." Saguru shrugged, becoming slightly more defensive. Revealing his thoughts to the psychologist was bad enough, to tell the magician would be unthinkable.

His companion shrugged in tandem, "I don't think that's the case for you. You're not normally this distracted. You're the type that's continually focused on a single goal."

"A detective has to search the roots of the problem to reveal lies and untruth. It is what we do."

"Like how you're bent on accusing me of being KID."

"It is time." Saguru knew it was a weak excuse but he needed something to escape this conversation. "We should head back to the classroom."

"Class had started way before now you know, it's half past."

"WHAT?!" Saguru took out his pocket watch and indeed it was pointing to the same thing. "KUROBA!"

"You needed to vent." Not at all apologetic or guilty, he motioned for Saguru to sit back down. "And you needed a friendly, or in my case not so friendly, ear. Besides, I think I'm the only person around you that doesn't mind your uptightedness."

"You-!" Frustrated, and knowing it was useless to try and sneak down to the classroom at this hour. The teacher would be quite happy to rid herself of the magician for the hour and Saguru had missed classes often enough not to cause any problems.

"Now now. What would people say when they see you on the verge of swearing? You'll lose all your British charm points. I wonder if it's because you're always at heist and constantly exposed to Nakamori-keibu that has you picking up on that habit." He waved at the empty space once more. "We have all the time in the world."

"No we don't." In a huff, and not really wanting to continue standing, he sat back down.

"So? Anything else you wanted to vent? Aside from the usual KID-related topics of course. Perhaps an unrequited love?"

"Good heavens, I cannot believe I am having this conversation with you." Saguru tries to bury himself in his hands, hoping that by not being able to see the magician, said magician would just...disappear.

"Come now, surely you've had many similar conversations with your other male friends." Unfortunately, not seeing does not equal to not existing. A rather friendly hand patted on his shoulders to which Saguru wanted to shrug away from but knew it would have been a useless action.

The rest of their conversation, if Saguru could even call it a conversation as it was more of the magician trying to pry words out of his own mouth and more monologuing than conversing, was passed in a rather strange atmosphere. But Saguru had to admit it was quite refreshing to talk to someone with a quick mind (and even quicker hands by the number of times he caught the magician glancing at his pocket watch from those very stealthy hands).

When the magician stood to stretch, Saguru knew the friendliness was coming to an end. As though reading his thoughts, the magician turned and raised a questioning eyebrow.

"You do know friendships don't work that way right?"

"What do you mean?"

"Your face, it's as though you're expecting me to suddenly drop out of the face of the Earth and never talk with you again. Didn't I say I always pay special attention to you?"

"Yes, by way of your pranks." Saguru did not bother to hold back the wince. He was thankful that none of the colour changing was permanent, "at least you made it so that I can actually wash it off easily."

"I do no harm, no permanent harm that is." It was as close as Saguru would get to having evidence that Kaito was KID, the pair sharing the same moral standards.

"Well, best not to keep you away from your appointment. Heaven knows what would happen to you if you missed it."

Saguru knew he should be alarmed that the magician knew of his schedule but then, what else is new about the magician. Time and time again, the magician has proven himself to know things that normal people would have no knowledge of. Though Saguru felt that there was a certain degree of stalking involved to gather enough intelligence to find out his schedule.

"You do know stalking is illegal right?"

"Not stalking, merely being a good friend and reminding you of your priorities." With a jaunty wave, the magician made his exit rather flashily with a bang, a pop, smoke, and a flash. Saguru had to cough at the amount of smoke that rose from where the magician had been standing. Out of reflex, he checked his clothes and hair for any changes, which thankfully there were none.

That afternoon, Saguru felt relatively lighter as he entered the rather posh looking office. The receptionist had a kind smile on her face as she took down his details and asked for him to wait on the very comfortable looking chairs. She even asked whether he wanted anything to drink, to which he declined.

The wait inside the office was brief, Saguru barely had the time to settle himself in the chair when the reception escorted him to the door leading to the doctor's office. Inside, it was furnished with a rather homely touch. Soft pastel colours on the wall and a rather well-used couch on the side. Several bean bags piled up at one corner of the room, filled with a selection of toys, books and other sorts of knick-knacks. Instead of a desk, there was a small coffee table set up beside a lamp and a reclining chair. The office looked like a living room rather than a doctor's office and Saguru was pleasantly surprised.

"Hakuba Saguru-kun, please take a seat." The genteel doctor said, motioning towards the couch as he went over to a cupboard and started pulling out cups and a pot. If Saguru ignored the small stack of manila folders and the obvious safe in the wall, he could just imagine himself being invited to a family friend's house for tea. This was his first time with this doctor, his previous visits had been to the Police's assigned doctor and somehow his father had been displeased by the doctor's approach, hence this new change.

"Thank you." He nodded, making himself comfortable on the plush look seat. The couch itself was well used, it was clear the seats were recently upholstered for the cushion colours did not match. However, Saguru could just imaging, and actually feel, himself sinking into the soft material. The doctor looked quite pleased at his relaxed state and Saguru straightened up. "My apologies." He said, sitting back upright.

"No, no. It's alright. This is a place for people to relax their mind." He handed over a cup of tea. The smell was very tempting and relaxing at the same time. It had the right mix of floral to tempt Saguru's palette but not strong enough to overpower anything. "I believe it was Superintendent Hakuba who set up this meeting. Is there anything in particular you want to discuss first?"

Saguru had been to quite a few of this psychological sessions and shook his head. It was better for the doctor to lead as it will often mean a quicker session and he was eager to leave this office no matter how comfortable the setting was.

"Alright then, how about we start off with something your father mentioned. You were recently involved in a rather gruesome case I believe?"

Saguru briefly described the investigation and the doctor listened. He was more like a friend than a psychologist, not pulling up a pad of paper and begin to scribble furiously helped. Saguru had to wonder whether the doctor needed to make any notes.

"And? Afterwards? What did you do?" He asked, more curious about the case than his emotive state. It was a strange approach, but Saguru felt that the doctor was genuinely interested in his work.

"What other cases were you involved in then? I'm afraid I never had the chance to look up on your records."

"I mostly specialise in thievery, unlike many of my high-school counterparts…" Saguru noted the few times he met with a certain Osakan detective, how the detective's approach to investigation frustrated and irritated him. He also made an offhand comment on his brief exchanges with Edogawa Conan, the elementary school child that was far too inquisitive and knowing.

"Do you feel as though you are inadequate when compared with these two detectives then?" It was a rather pointed question and Saguru knows he should feels offended. Though he was more offended he was being compared with the Osakan detective than the grade-schooler.

"No, we each have our own specialty." However, Saguru took the rather humble approach, not wanting seem as though all he did was complain. "It is a learning experience, knowledge sharing if you will."

"True, true." The doctor nodded, "you're all young so you have a lot to learn from each other. And? Do you feel resentful towards this Edogawa Conan child? That he managed to best you in your own field of expertise?"

"He is a child, and it was rumoured he had been raised by the Kudo family." He shrugged, not really minding being compared to a supposed prodigy.

"Hm…" The doctor observed him for a while, "you seem quite humble. But you are often trying to hide yourself."

"I am not hiding myself…"

"You are. Well, you are hiding your intentions at least. What you are doing right now is humoring me, saying things you feel I want to hear in order to give you a clean bill of health."

It was not often for people to see through his intentions so Saguru was not sure how to react. The slogan 'Keep Calm and Drink Tea' comes to mind and he followed that to a tee, picking up his half full cup and taking a sip.

"As long as you don't fully say what is on your mind, I cannot, in good conscience, clear you Saguru-kun. You'll be attending weekly sessions if this keeps up." The doctor glanced at his mobile that had a timer set, with quite some time to spare. "Well, I guess I can let you leave now, but you will have to make another booking with my receptionist at the front. I expect to see you again next week."

For a moment, Saguru had the oddest feeling overcoming him, that the doctor in front of him was the magician (or the thief) in disguise. Acting upon this urge, he stood in front of the confused doctor and pinched the cheeks.

"Saguru-kun! That was uncalled for!" Strangely, the doctor did not seem too angered.

"My apologies. I had not meant to offend you but with my numerous run-in with a certain thief, I feel I should at least check." He bowed low.

"Hm." The doctor reached over to the intercom, buzzing the receptionist. "Clear another two hours for me." He called to the front. Saguru felt nervous when the doctor laid a rather stern gaze on him. "Saguru-kun will be extending today's session, and make another booking for next week as well. Same time."

"Doctor!" Alarmed, Saguru wanted to stop whatever the doctor was trying to do as the receptionist outside repeated her orders and confirmed that yes, there were no further bookings today so there was time.

"Sit back down Saguru-kun. This is a serious issue, your continual paranoia can affect your daily life and I will try to help you get to the bottom of it."

"I know what is at the bottom of my paranoia and as long as I chase the thief, then it will stay that way for me." He did not want to mention a certain magician who also elicit the same sort of response from him.

"That is unhealthy Saguru-kun." The doctor poured another round of tea into his cup, filling the room with the same floral scent once more. Saguru wondered if he could sneak away under the pretense of having the need to go to the bathroom. But one look at the doctor told him it would be near impossible. "You need some way to come to terms with the thief, to stop seeing his shadows everywhere."

The doctor then began a long list of questions, to which Saguru paid only half a mind when answering in the most generic as possible. He was not deliberately trying to be difficult, just that it seemed wrong to talk to the doctor about the thief.

"You are being quite evasive on this topic." The doctor finally concluded. "Might I suggest another method of coming to terms with the thief or even the relationship with your fellow detectives? Though the method is a bit unorthodox…"

"I hope you are not suggesting me dating them or kissing them on the lips. Might I remind you that one is a child?" Saguru only said so half-jokingly. With this particular doctor, it was hard to tell. Or perhaps the doctor was just trying to tell him to be good friends with the detectives.

"No no. That is not what I'm trying to say. I was thinking of perhaps an in depth study of these individuals, that you try to understand them a bit, perhaps becoming friendly with them. Though seeing as you wouldn't be able to connect with KID outside of heist, and I very much doubt you would want to, maybe look through the news? Try to see things through his eyes in a sense."

"So I should stalk my fellow detectives." Saguru raised a questioning brow. "You are essentially telling me to commit a crime."

"Nothing so illegal. What I'm suggesting if asking them out for a coffee, try and understand each other. Or in your words, knowledge sharing. Find similar interests and such."

The session ended with the doctor's advice and a slip of paper with details to his next session written upon it. The doctor even set him homework in a sense, to keep track of how many times he tried to pull someone's face off and the types of crime he runs across (or was asked to consult on).

That evening, Saguru could barely sleep because of the strange thoughts the doctor put into his mind. Instead of tossing and turning on the bed, he strolled over to the easel and canvas that was still set up in his room. Taking up a piece of charcoal, Saguru roughly sketched outlines on the canvas, working with only moonlight as his guide. By the time his eyes felt as though it could not open, he wiped his hand clean of the sooty charcoal and snuggled into bed, though not before placing a cloth over his unfinished piece of work.

For the next few weeks, Saguru would return to his painting regularly, most often after a session with the eccentric man. The doctor was quite unorthodox, taking a rather overly friendly approach to the session. Still, the sessions persist as the doctor was quite unwilling to sign off on his mental health, Saguru thinks this might be because of the doctor's interest in his cases. Perhaps the good doctor lacked excitement in his life. Thankfully, it did not limit his access to cases nor to heist locations, and it was because of his still unrestricted access, Saguru continued to humour both his father and the eccentric doctor with the sessions.

By the time the term holiday came, his painting was complete. Saguru could not help but stare at the creation he made on the rather large canvas. It started off small but grew in size as Saguru found he wanted to add more detail. In the end, it was nearly half his height, a monstrosity. What was worst was the topic of his painting. Of all the things his mind focused on, it was the image of KID, a bright white shadow in the foreground of downtown Tokyo, with the blue moon high in the sky and a shining gem held up towards the moon's rays. Saguru was not sure why his mind was so fixated on this particular image, perhaps this was what the landscape at the gallery reminded him of. Or perhaps it had been on the singular heist since his session starts (and if Saguru was being the slightest bit of truthful towards himself, he would say he missed the entertainment derived from the heist, not that he would let that certain magician-thief know).

Looking at the calendar, there were two large red circles. One was the date of his flight back to England, in two day's time. Another was a week later for a certain someone's birthday party. Saguru had been asked, politely but forcefully, to attend but it had coincided with his travels back to visit his mother at the very last minute (Saguru had not intentionally planned it, it was all his mother's fault). Looking back at the painting, he figured this would be a perfect gift for the magician seeing as he was 'supposed' to be an avid fan. To a certain degree, Saguru was nervous about presenting this to the magician, but at the same time, KID or any of his paraphernalia does not belong in the Hakuba household. Saguru had already made the arrangements for the delivery to pick up the rather large present the next afternoon, with the specific instruction for it to be delivered on the evening of the party, after the actual party has ended. It was embarrassing enough to actually give the magician a gift seeing as they were barely friends, but to give something personally crafted would incite many annoying rumours

"Bocchama." Baaya knocked on his door.

"Yes Baaya?"

"Why are you still awake at this hour?" A concerned face popped from behind the doors. "You should be sleeping.

Hastily, Saguru covered the painting over with a white cloth once more. Though his caretaker had seen his actions and walked deliberately over to the canvas.

"Should I take this downstairs, ready for the delivery man tomorrow morning and rid you of the distraction?"

"There really is no need to trouble you with this Baaya. The canvas is heavy…" Or maybe it was just because Saguru did not want to part with the painting just yet. He felt that the longer he stared at the painting, the more he could understand the phantom thief. Yet, this painting is only a depiction of the thief, his interpretation of the mysterious KID and by no means could it sate his curiosity to the reasoning behind his acts.

"This is just a rambling old woman's thought but perhaps you should keep this to yourself if you do not want to part with it. I'm sure we can hang it in the library, or your study if you prefer." Saguru was not sure how his caretaker managed to take his reluctance as something else but he let it be.

"KID should have no place in a home of law enforcement. And Father often has visitors in the house, it would be quite inappropriate to have this painting within these walls."

"It is a work of art, I'm sure no one would mind." Saguru was having the sense that his caretaker was behaving like a proud parent showing off a child's artwork on the refrigerator door.

"People could take something like this and blow it out of proportion. Also, I feel it would receive a more loving home than inside this cold manor house." Saguru took one final look at the covered cloth before turning away to bed.

The moment of parting with the painting was painless, Saguru would have thought he would have felt some sense of loss. But in fact, he felt completely at ease when he handed over the carefully wrapped painting. The deliveryman was given the instructions and Saguru received a code to track the progress of delivery, not that it would be made until tomorrow afternoon. Baaya had, for the whole morning, questioned whether he would be fine gifting this away. Time and time again, Saguru had insisted the painting would be better off elsewhere.

Therefore, he was pleasantly startled to have received a text message the moment he stepped off the plane in Heathrow Airport. It was a heartfelt message even if it only contained a handful of words.

"Thank you, for thinking."

Letting a small smile grace his lips as he waited for his luggage, Saguru tucked the phone back into his pocket, feeling exceptionally light and happy that his work brought happiness to a deserving individual as opposed to the pain his deduction often brought.

 **-END-**


End file.
